An Improper Daughter

In 1928, as a 10-day-old baby she was left at a children's home with a note: "Her name is Ruth." For more than a decade, this was the only information Ruth had about her family. Then, a chance finding of a slip of paper in the orphanage's attic gives a vital clue as to who her mother is, and changes her life forever. This moving and poignant memoir is a closely observed story of social attitudes in the 1930s and society's treatment of children at that time. Ruth - who is 81 in May - was motivated by a deep awareness of what it means to 'not belong to anybody' in the search for the truth about her family. She began collecting random and improbable clues that would one day lead her across the world to find her mother. With indomitable spirit, humour and a keen eye for events and attitudes, Ruth Jones opens up a world so very different from a normal childhood. An Improper Daughter - the result of almost 70 years of sleuthing - has so many extraordinary twists and turns that it could almost pass as a detective story. But it is true.